


Renewable Energy

by Septic84



Series: PFF Bingo 2019 [10]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: BINGOBLACKOUT, Business Men Dan and Phil, Deceit, Drinking, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Save the planet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 14:41:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21199334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Septic84/pseuds/Septic84
Summary: Dan and Phil hated working with each other since a bad business venture, now they are forced to do so again in America. They will need to team up and work together to beat the competition, but can they stop bickering long enough to do so?





	Renewable Energy

I really, really did not like Daniel Howell. We had worked in the same office for the last five years, innovating and selling products and processes for businesses to ensure what they were producing was done so in a way to promote better benefits for the environment. Our firm, Fortress Ozone, was dedicated to lessening human and industry impact on the climate, and that was something I could get behind. I agreed to take this job offer because I wanted to make a difference, and quickly climbed the ranks to one of the company's top performers, to his credit, so had Dan. It didn't take long for management to realize that we did not get along. Three years ago, they had put us on a project to present a more climate beneficial, renewable energy source to Ireland’s largest manufacturing plant, and it was a disaster. Individually, we both had our parts down, but when Dan and I didn't agree on one key argument, the entire thing had crumbled. He had gone behind my back to management, telling them that I was unreasonable, did not understand the project and that he couldn't work with me. We both were removed from the project; I was humiliated and I had never really been able to let that go. 

“Phil, I know that you and Dan don't get along,” my supervisor Jackson started, “He is a top performer and so are you. So, they want you both to go to America.” This was going to be a struggle. Dan was always vocal, boisterous and animated, which made me uncomfortable. I liked to unassumingly fade into the background whenever I could. He also was a snake who liked to stab people in the back. “I haven't forgotten the Ireland fiasco, but this comes from the top.” 

“I get it, Jack,” I said, resolutely. I knew this would happen sooner or later. Dan was really good at his job, there was no doubt about that. So was I. 

He took a deep breath. "There's something else,” he hesitated. “One room, double bed.” 

“Oh,” was all I could say. Not only did I have to work with him again, but I also had to sleep in the same room as well. “There isn't anything you can do?” I said, carefully. 

“No,” he said, smiling sympathetically, “I did try.” 

I sighed, it looked like I was stuck. “Does Dan know yet?” 

He shrugged, “Milo's telling 'im,” Milo was Jackson's counterpart in management and somehow had Dan wrapped around his little finger. 

“Should be fine then.” 

He nodded. “You leave tomorrow.” 

“On a Saturday?” 

“Yes. That's the plan.” He handed me a packet of information and a plane ticket. “Head home, get packed, yeah?” 

“Okay.” 

I had called a car to take me to my flat, it was small and was co-inhabited by my prissy cat, Pemsky. Pemsky somewhat came with the place, she was always climbing the nearby tree and sitting on my balcony. At first, I didn't notice, but when I did I realized she was there every day when I returned from work, disappearing about an hour later. One day, it was raining and windy and she appeared, almost pleading to be let in. Her fur was dripping and covered in leaves, I wasn't heartless so in she came and in she stayed. From that day on, she lived with me and not just on my balcony. 

I opened the door and heard her jump down from wherever she was to come to greet me. “Heya Pem,” I bent down and stroked her. “Had a good day?” She wound around my legs, begging for food. Pemsky did everything on her terms, she only allowed me to pet her when she wanted and demanded I attend to her every need, which I did. She had me trained just as Milo did Dan. 

Dan, I rolled my eyes. I didn't want to spend an entire week with him at this conference. We were to fly out, work out the presentation and present the final product on Thursday. I really hoped the time had matured him, or maybe he had gotten over the last project, but he hadn't so much as glanced in my direction since so chances were slim. After packing and confirming with my brother that he would be able to look after Pemsky, I headed out to Tesco to get some basic things to take along on the trip. I knew we would have a food budget, but I was very particular about my coffee. 

I had to be at the airport at 6:00 am on a Saturday, thanks, job. Our flight left at 8:00 am. I saw Dan in the line a few places behind me, once I had checked in, I sat and waited for him, bouncing my knee up and down, clutching to my pillow. He saw me and sat next to me, silently. 

“Hi, Dan.” He looked at me, he looked terrible. 

“Hi,” He looked back down. 

“You okay?” 

“Like you care. Listen, I don't want to lose this one too, okay?” 

I shook my head, starting with the attitude, great. “Right.” 

“Who brings a pillow as carryon?” 

“I guess I do,” I said shrugging. 

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Perfect.” 

“I don't know why you want to argue, it's not even half 6.” 

“I don't. In fact, I don't even want to talk to you. I know how you are.” 

“What the hell does that mean?' 

“You know damn well, Lester.” 

“Dan, can we please keep things civil? I want to have a successful trip. You know as well as I do, we both were handpicked because we are dedicated and good at our positions. We are up against some pretty solid competition; let's remain professional, then we can show off our talents and our company.” 

He scoffed. “God, you are so up your own ass.” He ran his hand through his hair. The conversation was left there due to the plane boarding. This trip was going to test every ounce of patience I had. 

As we boarded the plane, Dan was nervously chewing on his lip, it was then it dawned on me, Dan was a nervous flyer. He looked at me and I gave him my best reassuring smile, he rolled his eyes. We somehow had gotten seats right next to each other, that meant the next 11 and a half hours were going to be excruciating. 

As the pilot announced we were about to take off, I heard him inhale and exhale slowly, his hands had a death grip on the armrests and his eyes were closed, 

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” I said 

“Just shut up, Phil,” 

I sighed annoyed, I knew he was scared, but his attitude was not helpful. As we pulled away from the runway and lifted into the air, I watched Dan’s knuckles turn white. “We're almost past the worst part for a while,” I said. He didn't respond, but his grip loosened slightly. Once we were in the air and flying smoothly, Dan’s eyes peaked open and I saw him glance out the window. 

“Feeling better?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” 

“That seemed rough for you, I’m sorry,” 

“Why are you sorry? You’re a Pratt, I bet you can’t wait to get back and tell everyone what a baby I was,” 

“I wouldn’t do that, Dan,” I said quietly, putting my earbuds in and closing my eyes. I wasn’t going to listen to him being an asshole anymore. I was trying to be nice, but it was clear that it wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to bicker and frankly, I wasn’t interested in doing so, especially since the flight had just taken off. 

Dan nudged me, “Wake up,” He said, pulling out an earbud, 

“Hm?” 

“I need to go to the toilet and you are in the way,” 

“Oh, sorry,” I muttered, I shifted so Dan could squeeze past me. 5 hours had passed, which meant food would be coming soon. I was starting to get hungry. Dan came back shortly after, squeezing past me to get back to his seat, 

“How are you feeling?” 

“I’m fine.” 

“Food should be offered soon,” 

“Yeah, great. Could you just shut up?” 

“I could try, but It’s not really in my nature,” I swore I saw him smirk out of the corner of my eye. “Still don’t want to call a truce?” 

“I doubt it would work. You remember Ireland,”  
“Yeah, I remember a lot of things about Ireland,” I said, softly. Apparently, Dan had forgotten that while in Ireland we had actually worked very well together, before the blowup. 

“What does that mean?” 

“Nothing, forget it.” 

“No, you can’t just say something like that and not finish,” 

“I just did,” 

“See? This is what I am talking about, you’re so fucking annoying Lester,” 

“Well, it would seem that is a trait we both share, Howell,” 

Dan put his earbuds in facing away from me. I was done trying to talk to him, at least as much as I could help it. If he was this crabby now, I couldn’t imagine what he would be like once the jet lag set in from the 8-hour time difference. 

When it was announced that the landing may be a little rough due to a weather system in LA, Dan’s face paled and he grabbed the armrests again. We hadn’t spoken once since we called each other annoying, but I couldn’t help myself, 

“Deep breaths, you’re okay,” He didn’t say anything, but he did start to take deep breaths. We had hit a rather bumpy patch of turbulence and Dan’s hand slipped off the armrest and was suddenly clutching mine. I believed this was a complete accident, however, I reassuringly rubbed my thumb on the back of his hand. I figured he was going to snatch his hand out of mine as quickly as he could, but he didn’t. He only let it go when we were still on the runway and told that it was time to exit the plane. He was blushing but didn’t say anything. 

“We have to get an Uber to get to the hotel,” I said to him as we entered the airport, “Do you want to walk around a little and eat first?” 

His head was low, “Why are you being so nice?” 

“Because I am nice, you seemed to have forgotten that, but that’s alright. I’ve got a week to remind you.” 

We went to the Café in the Airport and placed our order, and though I fully expected him to sit as far away from me as possible, surprisingly, he sat at the same table across from me. It was 11:00 AM in LA, it was the lunch rush and as Dan watched people, I watched Dan. When he wasn’t focusing on trying to present himself a certain way, he actually looked soft, friendly and he was cute. 

The server brought our meals and left us be, I drank two cups of coffee straight away, adding a lot of sugar, I couldn’t wait to get to the hotel to make my own. 

“Wow, that’s a shit-ton of sugar, mate,” 

“I like sugar,” I said in my defense. 

“Apparently,” 

Once back at the hotel, Dan flopped down onto one of the beds, 

"You're going to sleep?" 

"Well, no shit," 

"Uh, don't you think we should get on the local schedule?" 

"It is 2:00 pm, Lester, that means that I wouldn't be able to sleep for what? 5 hours? Is 8:00 pm acceptable?" 

"I just want us to be at our best for Monday, we have to start to make a plan," 

"You think? Will you actually work with me this time?" 

I sighed, "I wanted to work with you last time, you shut me out then stabbed me in the back." 

"Of course, you would see it like that," 

"You know what, fine, Dan. Go to sleep. Do what you want like always, never thinking of anyone else." I grabbed my room key and walked out the door. I was hoping we could move past Ireland, but it didn't seem like Dan was interested in doing so. I walked around the surrounding area, checking out various shops, I was trying to waste time to keep myself awake. Maybe Dan was just overly grumpy when he was tired. I wanted to remain hopeful of the chance at a pleasant experience. My legs started to get sore, so I walked back to the hotel. I tried to open the door as carefully as I could so I didn't wake him up. What he was doing was thrashing around in his sleep, he was having a nightmare. I went back to the door, opened it and let it close loudly this time, it woke him up. 

"Holy shit," he looked disoriented, 

"Sorry, are you okay?" 

He flushed red, "I'm fine, Lester, mind your business." 

"Sorry I was concerned, my mistake," I said casually as I walked into the bathroom. When I came out, he was sat up with his head in his hands. 

"What time is it?" 

It's shortly after 4," 

"I feel like shit," 

"Jet lag," 

"Yeah, probably." 

"Would you like some coffee?" 

"Ah yeah. That would be good." 

"Coming right up," I unpacked, set up to make the coffee, and heated the water in the microwave. I handed it to him, adding sugar to mine, 

"Wow, that's a lot of sugar, mate," 

I shrugged, "it's how I like it," 

"Oh god," he coughed as he drank it, "this is terrible coffee." 

Well, I like this coffee," I pouted slightly, "and you're welcome, by the way." 

"Right, yeah, thanks," 

I smiled, "that's better. So, ever been in LA?" 

"No, first time, you?" 

"Nope, first time as well, are you nervous?" 

"How do you mean?" 

"About the presentations, about trying to win this contract?" 

"Oh, that. No. That part never makes me nervous. It's the flying, but you already knew that," 

I smiled sympathetically, "yeah," 

"I wish they would have given me more notice, I could have gotten a prescription," 

"Yes, I could have used more of a heads up too," 

"Did they wait and tell you at the end of the day Friday?" 

"Yep. I had to beg my brother to look after my cat, I had no plan." He smirked. 

"You have a cat," 

"I do, her name is Pemsky, she is a rescue, and she thinks she owns my flat." I smiled fondly. 

"What kind of a name is Pemsky?" 

I shrugged, "it sorta just happened." 

"That is a specific name to just be random," 

"I'm a specific kinda guy." 

He laughed, "I'd say" 

It dawned on me that we had just had a civil conversation that was more than 5 words, pressing my luck, I said, "Do you want to go get dinner somewhere? Maybe a walk will help clear your head," 

He considered it, "I am hungry," 

"I saw a cute little Sushi place a few blocks away," 

"Yeah, Sushi is good," 

"Wow, did we just agree on something?" 

"I mean it's Sushi, you'd have to be mad not to agree to that," 

After he took a shower and spent an ungodly amount of time getting ready, we found ourselves walking into the small restaurant. We were sat next to a large fish tank filled with fish of varying breeds and colors. I kept looking from the tank back up to him, trying not to be too obvious. 

"Got something you want to say, Lester?" 

Damn, he noticed, "no," 

“Right,” 

"Are you going to be ready for Monday?" I blurted out. 

"Yeah, we'll have to go over things, but I'm ready, are you?" 

"Yeah, I think so," 

"It's just unfortunate that all this work could be for nothing," 

"Well, we get to see LA and free food!" I held up my drink. 

He nodded, "yeah, that's true," 

We sat and talked while we ate our food for about an hour. We had been getting along for the entire meal (the drinks probably helped) 

"Wow, this is the best Sushi I've had for a while," 

"Yeah, same. Very good." 

After we had paid the check and left, Dan hesitated before walking towards the hotel, "Did you forget something?" 

"Ah, no," 

I arched my eyebrow, "okay?" 

"Hey, um," 

"Yeah?" 

"So, we've had a good meal, right?" 

"Why does that sound like a loaded question?" 

"You know what, forget it, never mind," 

"What? No, what were you going to say?" 

"You're just going to be a dick about it," 

"That doesn't seem fair, I don't even know what you're going to say," 

"It's just that, I've never been in LA, and I doubt I ever will be again. There's this club, and I'd like to go," 

"Okay," 

"Like, could you go with me?" 

He was so cute and nervous, I swallowed. "You want me to go to a club, me, Phil Lester?" I was still skeptical. 

"See, I knew you'd do that!" 

I held my hands up, "excuse me if this seems unusual to me, I just wanted to make sure I understood," 

"What don't you understand? So?" 

"Is this the reason it took you so long to get ready?" 

"Shut up, I look good," 

"So, where is this club?" His eyes lit up. 

"We will have to get a car, but it's not too far," 

"What type of club is it?" 

He sucked in a breath, "That's the thing," 

"Oh, here we go," 

"Please just hear me out, okay, I'll owe you." 

"You'll owe me, huh," 

"Yeah whatever, so this club," 

"This isn't like a BDSM club, is it?" 

"What? No, it's a gay club," he judged my reaction, he must have judged it wrong because he started to ramble, "Listen, It's a cool club, one of the biggest. Don't worry, I won't let any guys hit on you or anything, or like flirt with you. This is a once in a lifetime for me, I wish I were brave enough to go alone, but I'm not," I pushed my finger to his lips, shutting him up, 

"Dan, breathe," he backed away from my finger. 

"So?" His eyes were so hopeful, he seemed so young. 

I shook my head smiling, You're an idiot, but okay," 

The smile on his face was so genuine that his dimple popped out, it made butterflies swirl in my stomach. He grabbed my hands jumping up and down, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" 

"Yeah, yeah, we should call a car." 

When we arrived, we had found a small table off to the side, by clubbing standards, 10:00 PM was early. I watched Dan look around excitedly, taking in his surroundings. "What do you want to drink?" 

"You're buying me a drink?" Misunderstanding me again he said, "Not like that! Look, I know that you're uncomfortable here, I am thankful you were willing to come," 

"Wow, Dan Howell showing appreciation?" 

"This is the problem with you, you never know when to shut your mouth," 

"Guilty as charged. I like sweet drinks," 

"Of course you do, I'll be right back," 

We sat and sipped our drinks, watching the people filter in by the numbers. Dan had started taking pictures, "I can't believe I'm actually here, oh my God." 

"It sure is cool," It wasn't as if I hadn't heard of this place, it was the most popular gay club in LA. I watched more and more people enter and I started to get nervous. Dan must have noticed my trepidation. 

"Don't worry if a guy hits on you, I'll run blocker," 

"Right," 

Several drinks and songs later, (at least for Dan, I had two and hadn't danced. I don't dance unless it's on a DDR pad) Dan was pretty intoxicated. He was out dancing again and I was "saving our table," when a tall blonde approached me. His smile was as wide as he was tall, 

"Hey," he yelled over the music, "I'm Scott." 

"Phil," I yelled back 

"How is it going, Phil?" 

"Can't really complain, first time here." 

"Oh, you're British, sexy," I blushed, "Wanna dance?" 

"Oh, no. That would be a big mistake for me, Scott, I can't, " 

"Hey, babe!" Dan slid his arms around my shoulders, "who's this?" 

"Scott, Scott, Dan," 

"Hi, Scott, nice to meet you. Babe, I'm getting a drink, you want something?" 

"Water, please," Dan smiled, 

"Well, it was nice meeting you both, have a good night," Scott left. 

Dan sat down, smiling, "Sorry Phily, forgot how alluring your blue eyes are," 

I smirked, "Alluring, huh?" 

"Shut up, as if you didn't know," 

"Scott seemed nice, 

"Scott probably wanted in your pants," 

I shrugged, he laughed. "You are the most chill straight man I have ever met," 

"Well, I'm," 

"Oh, I love this song, BRB," I smirked as I watched him scamper back to the dance floor. A few songs passed and a much more intoxicated Dan skipped over to our table, "come dance with me, Phily," 

"No, I don't dance," he grabbed my hand and pulled me up, "Dan, no, you're really pissed," 

"You're really pretty" he paused, "oh my God, I'm sorry. I'm that guy I said I'd protect you from." 

I laughed, "We should probably go, it's late and we have to prepare for Monday," 

"Booooo, boooo Phil, boooooo," 

"You'll be thankful when you keep your job, sober Dan loves his job," 

He sighed, "Drunk Dan does too," he started to stumble and fall, I caught him before he hit the ground. He looked up at me, meeting my eyes he breathed out, "wow," 

I righted him, "come on dancing queen, time to go back to the hotel," he nodded and slipped his hand inside of mine. Using that to my advantage, I pulled him along as I used my other hand to order an Uber. We were outside waiting for the car, "You're so boring, like responsible and adult level boring," 

"Once again, you'll be thanking me when you can still make rent, 

"See, that's the the thingie," 

"The thingie?" 

"You just take over and be all like smart, and your face may be pretty, but it's also stupid," 

I laughed, "I'll take it," 

"Was nice for you to do this," he stumbled again and I pulled him to my side to keep him stable. "You smell like warn," 

"I smell like warm?" I laughed as I felt him burrow closer to me. 

"Yeah, warm," the car had arrived, Dan was sleepy and was very agreeable which made getting him into the Uber easier. 

Dan was asleep on me in minutes, I had to admit that being this close to him was comforting. As the car pulled up to the hotel, I woke him up, 

"Dan, wake up," 

"Nooooo," 

"Yes, we need to get you to bed," I paid the driver and got Dan back to the room, 

"I'm so sleepy," 

"Yeah, I bet you are, take off your shoes," 

"Don't wanna," 

"Don't then, I don't care. Goodnight," I grabbed my bag and went into the bathroom, I showered, brushed my teeth, and hung up my wet towel. When I walked back out into the room, I heard Dan snoring softly, "you're going to be sick tomorrow," I said to the sleeping man. I noticed his shoes and clothes were in a pile next to his bed, I hoped he at least had his pants on. Shaking my head, I turned off the lights and went to sleep. 

I was awakened by my phone; I fumbled for it and saw “Jackson” on my display. “Shit,” I muttered, 

“Fuck, make it stop,” Dan groaned, 

I got up and went into the hall, “Hello?” 

“Hey there Phil, getting settled okay?” 

“Yeah, getting used to the time change, you know.” 

“Right, have you guys talked about the presentation yet?” He asked hesitantly. 

“Ah, no. The jet lag is really bad,” 

“I understand, but you can’t lose this one, Phil,” 

“I know, we will be ready,” I assured. 

“Milo wants me to talk to Dan,” 

“Oh, Dan’s in the shower right now,” I covered for him, though I’m not sure why I did. 

“Oh, right. Well, he’s okay too, yeah?” 

“Sure,” 

“Phil,” 

“He’s Dan, Jackson, what do you want me to say?” 

He snorted, “Fair enough, keep me posted,” 

“I will, bye.” I snuck back into the room, 

“Turn your fucking phone off,” 

“I can’t, that was Jackson,” 

Dan struggled to sit up, a look of panic crossed his face, “Shit,” 

“Don’t worry, you’re good,” 

“Yeah, I’m sure you were forthcoming with my current state, weren’t you?” 

I shook my head, I guess last night changed nothing, “It’s too early for this, I told him you were in the shower, so it’s fine.” 

“I have to call Milo, explain,” 

“You will only damn yourself, I covered for you.” It had just gone 9, so I set an Alarm for 11:00. “Go back to sleep, we have work to do later,” 

“Bloody hell,” He said stumbling out of bed to the bathroom. I set tablets and a water bottle on the nightstand and laid back down. 

“You better not have been talking shit, Lester,” He snapped as he went back to bed. I missed the curly-haired cuddly Dan I saw last night, that Dan I could stand. 

“Just go to sleep,” 

We had gone over the presentation twice, Dan had three cups of my “terrible” coffee and had started to become short-tempered. 

“Why do you want us to fail?” 

“How do you know we will fail? I have worked on this for hours; the statistics speak for themselves.” 

“It’s so boring, though, we need to awe them, it has to be a show,” 

“How do you mean?” 

“We are in LA, Phil, not London.” 

“Right, so what did you have in mind?” 

“This,” Dan went through several examples of how to add “pizazz” to our project, he wasn’t wrong. It did look better. 

Dan’s phone rang, it was Milo, 

“Hey, yeah. It's fine. We are going to make it work. What? Tonight? When? Fine. Milo, are there any other surprises we don’t, fine. Right, bye,” He sighed. “For fuck sake,” 

“What now?” 

“There’s a dinner tonight, with all the other companies and representatives, we are required to go,”  
“And they couldn’t have told us before now?” 

“They didn’t know,” I arched my eyebrow skeptically, “Right? S’what Milo said” 

“Great, when?” 

“6:00, Milo sent me directions” 

I glanced at the clock, it was three now, “Well, I suppose we had better figure out where it is and start to get ready,” 

“I guess so,” 

“You do that and I’ll shower first,” 

“Yeah, okay.” 

Dan cleaned up nice, he was in a white shirt, a pinstriped grey vest with matching pinstriped gray pants, his hair was fully straightened and one silver hoop was in his left ear, I tried hard not to stare. I looked so plain in comparison, my red button-up shirt and black pants looked drab next to him, but honestly, I didn’t even feel bad. Dan looked good, he looked damned good 

“Lester, you drunk? I said the car’s here, let’s go,” 

“Oh, right, sorry,” I blushed looking down. 

We were greeted at the door by one of the leaders of the convention, I didn’t recall his name, Dan did, 

“Mr. Kinney, is it?” Dan said, shaking his hand, 

“Yes, and you are?” 

“I’m Dan and this is Phil, we’re with Fortress Ozone in London.” 

“Oh, nice to meet you, please go in through there and have a seat, we will start shortly.” I nodded politely and let Dan take the lead, I was so nervous, he seemed to be right in his element. 

We sat next to each other at a large table full of several sharp-looking business people, they all were talking among themselves, I never really understood this. These people were all threats to each other, and yet here they were talking as if it were a casual dinner. I guess that’s what it meant when they said “It’s just business,” I could never wrap my mind around that. 

Dan moved closer to my ear and whispered, “The big man on the end with the hideous gold chain 4 sizes larger than it should be is the current top performer for his company, he also has the current contract we are bidding for,” He nodded to the other end, “The woman in that dreadful yellow hat is his partner, they're called “Accountable products,”  
“Why are the on opposite ends of the table?” 

“They probably can’t stand each other, but really, they are probably trying to overhear things that can be used in their presentations.” 

“Right,” 

“This is a lot more intense than Ireland, Phil, that man at the end is with “More than industry,” their company has won several awards for environmental accomplishments, but their profit is not as impressive as others," 

“Right,” 

“And legs over there,” He pointed to a tall redhead who was gesticulating wildly as she was in the middle of a conversation, “Is with Rival Trees,” 

“Oh, I’ve heard of them, they’re pretty good,” 

“Yeah, they are. They will be our competition, as far as brains go, anyway. Be careful who and how you talk to people,” 

“Okay,” 

“I have a feeling most of these other companies are filler,” I chewed on my lip, I didn’t sign up for all of this political and social stress. He looked at me, his face softened, “Take a deep breath, Phil,” 

I did so, and Mr. Kinney entered the room. “May I have your attention, please?” 

He walked to the head of the table, “Thank you all for coming, we have several of the planets smartest people at this table and this week is going to be about learning, growing and hopefully making a profit. As you know, our firm represents about half of the manufacturing plants on the west and east coast of the United States; We are looking for several things this week,” He started to walk around the room, “We want to learn how we can make a profit and still impress the EPA, how to produce goods and keep up with the expectations and demands of the consumers without being penalized by regulations.” 

This man did not care about the impact on the environment at all, I shifted uncomfortably. 

“Tonight, we will get to know each other, and tomorrow the real work begins, on Thursday we will know who has won the bid. Enjoy,” He sat down next to the lady in the yellow hat. 

I watched as everyone started chatting, a tall blonde caught my eye, Scott. I glanced at Dan, who was chatting with the person next to him, Dan either had not seen Scott, or he didn’t remember him. I did everything I could to not be noticed. 

We were eating when the man across from me spoke, 

“Hell of a speech,” he said, 

I nodded 

“Adam, TTK Limited,” 

“Phil, Fortress Ozone,” 

“London, right?” 

“That’s us,” 

“So, ever been to the states?” 

“Yes, this is our first time in LA, though,” 

He started to eat and much to my relief the conversation ended. As they all ate, drank and chatted I observed, Dan and I seemed to be the youngest people here, which made me nervous. I wondered if our credibility would be called into question due to the supposed years of experience most of these people had on us. My leg started to nervously bounce, I wasn’t good at being with people, especially people I had to impress. 

“Thank you all for coming,” Mr. Kinney said at the close of the meal, “We start at 10:00 AM tomorrow, if you haven't made arrangements for transportation, I have a list of options. Enjoy your evening,” The room started to get up, but Dan remained seated. I waited for him to get up before I made a move, he seemed to know what he was doing, better than I did. 

“Ready?” 

“Yeah,” 

“Dan, Phil!” Shit, Scott. A look of confusion passed over Dan’s face, 

“Scott, hello,” 

“It’s a small world, huh?” 

“Sure is,” 

“So, you’re Planet Ozone, huh?” 

“We are,” 

“I’m with Rival Trees,” 

“Oh, wow,” I said, “I'm familiar with your past work, you guys are really good,” 

“We are. I supposed you are the doe-eyed kids Bennington was talking about,” 

I laughed uncomfortably, “I don’t know about that, but we are passionate about what we do, that’s true.” 

“Bennington is with Accountable Products,” Dan explained, 

“Oh, right,” 

“Well, good to actually meet you both,” He smiled and nodded, “See you on the battlefield,” 

“Right,” I watched him walk away, forcing myself to breathe, 

“Phil?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Who was that?” 

“Don’t remember much from last night, do you?” 

His face flushed, “Fuck off, Lester,” 

I held my hands up, “Don’t get so defensive it was just a question.” 

“Well, clearly your memory is crisp, keeping that in your back pocket, are you?” 

“Christ Dan, can you just stop?” 

“Uh oh, trouble in paradise?” It was the redhead, her body language was confident and aggressive, 

“Ah,” I said, 

“Oh, where are my manners,” She extended her hand, “Vivi, Rival Trees,” 

“Pleasure,” Dan said, shaking her hand, 

“I’m sure,” She winked, “Lovers spats are hard, good luck boys,” she walked away under the pretense of “joking,” it was far more sinister than that. 

“Fuck,” I said, startling Dan, 

“I haven’t ever heard you say that word,” 

“Well, it’s warranted, we need to leave.” 

“What’s going on?” 

“Not here,” I said through clenched teeth, “Come on,” 

Once we got back to the hotel, Dan looked at me expectantly. 

“You don’t give a shit about me, I don’t even know why I let you convince me to go to that club,” 

“What does this have to do with anything?” 

“Are you being purposefully dense or are you just stupid?” 

“Rude,” He said unbuttoning his vest, “Just fucking tell me,” 

“Well, Mr. “Please let’s go to a club, it’s a gay club, it will be fun,” it’s not so fun now,” 

“Well, it couldn’t have been that bad?” Dan now had his vest off and was unbuttoning his undershirt, I stared at the floor. 

"Yeah, it really was, it is,” 

“Are you so insecure in your masculinity that you can’t take a gay man hitting on you?” 

“You are so stupid,” I muttered. 

“Could you stop calling me stupid?” 

“It has nothing to do with insecurities, you were afraid that I wouldn’t let you go to that stupid club if I thought a man would hit on me, so, when that happened, you pretended to be my boyfriend,” 

“Fuck off,” 

“You even called me babe, twice.” 

“How drunk was I?” 

“Oh, you were right wankered,” 

“Had to have been,” 

“It was Scott, you berk,” 

“Oh,” I looked up, Dan’s shirt was fully unbuttoned now, exposing his skin. I swallowed. 

“Yeah, "Oh." So now they think we are boyfriends,” 

“Well, I am sorry I am so repulsive as a gay man that you are having a crisis about someone thinking we are together,” 

“Dan. Shut up.” 

“What? Are you really that homophobic?” 

“You are too smart to be acting this obtuse, I suppose everyone handles shame differently,” 

“Hey,” 

“Am I wrong?” He stayed quiet, “I didn’t think so. The problem is this, Scott told “Vivi,” she caught us arguing,” 

“And now all we are is gossip,” 

“Yes, but think about it. She thinks she has dirt on us, an angle, they think they have found our Achilles heel,” 

“Oh,” 

“So, if we want to keep our reputation and probably our jobs, we are going to have to start getting along,” 

“Right,” He slowly sat down. 

“I want this contract, badly Dan. It would put Planet Ozone on the map globally, and I think we can do it,” 

“You do? You haven’t seemed very confident about any of this.” 

“Of course, I do. I am not good at social situations, but this is important to me. It’s more than a “job,” we may not like each other, but we are both damn good at our jobs,” I sighed, “And if we worked together, and not against each other, just think what we could do,” He nodded, “So now we need a new plan, and we need it quick, so what do you say, are we a team?” 

“Well, according to them, we’re Boyfriends, I guess,” 

“Ah, yeah,” I looked him up and down, biting my lip. Why did he have to be so damn hot? 

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to touch me,” Dan said bitterly, 

“Dan,” 

He ignored me, throwing a tee-shirt on, “Okay Lester, where do we start?” 

We arrived at the convention center at 9:00 am, after checking in with Jackson and Milo. We wanted to make sure that we were the first ones there, we saw a few others that were at the dinner last night looking at as. It had seemed that “Vivi” had been talkative. We wanted the company reps to see us, but not Mr. Kinney or the rest of the board. 

“I can’t believe you forgot, Phil,” 

“Well, maybe if you hadn’t been yelling at me all night,” 

We watched as the eyes were glued to us, it seemed that they all knew we were "together." 

“Shh, everyone is going to hear you,” 

“Fine,” 

“Got ‘em,” Dan texted me, 

The first day was mostly informative, various groups highlighting and showcasing their studies and data, they seemed to like my graphs, that was good enough for now. When day one came to a close, Dan and I went back to the hotel right away, I wanted to rework parts of our presentation for tomorrow. 

“We did well,” He said, “a lot of the filler companies won’t be back tomorrow,” 

“How can you be so sure?” 

He scoffed, “Kinney’s face shows everything he’s thinking, poor bastard,” 

“How many do you think?” 

“Hell, I don’t know Phil, but I would be surprised if there were more than 10 contenders remaining tomorrow,” 

“It’s only been one day!” 

“Dog eats dog, Phil,” We ate the food he had ordered to the room and put the finishing touches on the next level of our project, we hadn’t bickered or fought, when you had a common “enemy” it was easier to let the petty things go. 

“You’re good at making data easy to understand,” 

“Really? Thanks,” 

He smiled at me, then blushed, “Well, I’m knackered, best be off to bed.” 

“Right, Dan?” 

“Yeah,” 

“I’m glad we teamed up to work together, you are the reason my data looks good,” 

He laughed, “I won’t argue with that,” He looked down, “Thanks,” 

“You’re welcome.” 

The next morning Dan and I secured our seats early, going over final notes. Dan was right, no more than 10 companies were invited back for the second day. As we noticed eyes on us, I heard Dan huff, “Fine, have it your way.” He got up abruptly and walked to the toilet. It took a minute for me to realize what he was doing, so the emotional response from me was real. 

“He seems like a pain in the ass,” It was Adam again, 

“He can be,” I said noncommittedly, “I guess we all can, though,” 

“That’s true, you in this on your own now?” 

“What? Oh no, he’ll be back. The last thing he would want is for me to take all the credit,” that wasn’t untrue. 

Adam laughed, “Yeah, I can see that,” 

Vivi walked by clicking her tongue, “Is there still trouble in paradise? What a shame,” She and Scott seated themselves at the head of the table, watching me carefully. I ignored them, Adam said quietly, “What a bitch,” I smirked. 

Throughout the day Vivi seemed to be more civil to Dan and me, but especially to Dan. Dan and I once again left straight away, I wanted to make sure everything was sorted for the next day. 

“Vivi seems to have taken a liking to you,” 

“Jealous?” 

“Don’t be absurd, it’s just strange, out of place,”  
“I think she knows exactly what she's doing,” 

“You’re so good at that,” 

“At what?” 

“Reading people,” 

“Thanks,” 

I was lying in bed, unable to sleep. I wasn’t prepared for this level of competition, I just wanted to save the planet. As cliché and cheesy as it sounded, that’s really why I was here. It was disappointing that not everyone saw it that way, 

“Dan? Are you awake,” 

He groaned, “What do you want, Lester?” 

“You care about the planet, right?” 

He sat up, “What are you on about?” 

“Just, everyone here seems so focused on making a profit and “beating the EPA,” but for me, it's not about that. I sincerely and honestly care about saving the planet, you know?” 

“Yeah, I know,” 

“To me, it’s more important than dollar signs, production, and contracts, but it seems like I’m the only one,” 

Dan paused for a moment, “You’re not the only one,” 

The next morning Dan and I were there earlier than the prior days, Dan was focused on having us be seen by as many of them as possible. If you would have asked me Sunday, I would be questioning him. Now I was trusting him, as shocking as that would be to Jackson and Milo, Dan and I were working well together. 

People started to filter in, there were only 5 companies left now, by the end of the day there would be only three, and tomorrow after our final presentation, the contract would be signed by one of us. “Phil, how could you be so careless,” Dan hissed loudly, 

He pulled me out of my thoughts, “I told you last night we shouldn’t have included that part,” His voice was so harsh, anxiety started to rise in me. I knew this was all staged, but I wasn’t prepared for it. I guess that was part of the plan too, the more natural my reaction, the easier it would be to sell. 

“I’m sorry, Dan,” I said, stuttering, I took a deep breath, “This is fake, this is fake, this is fake,” I chanted to myself. 

“You really don’t care about this at all do you?” All of the eyes in the room were now on me, that was a real fear of mine. I was starting to lose composure, 

“You know that’s not true,” I started to shake, I got up and excused myself to the bathroom. It looked dramatic, it was good, but I needed to reset my brain so I could perform when it came time for us to say our piece. Dan texted me, 

“It’s not real, you’re doing great. You care more about this than any of the people here,” 

Today had been far more intense and cutthroat than others, but I suppose that was to be expected. I was pretty proud of myself for remaining as collected as I did. Halfway through the day, we were notified that we had made the top three, Planet Ozone, Rival Trees and the current company, Accountable Products, were the finalists. Towards the end of the day, Mr. Kinney had to excuse himself to “take care of an urgent matter,” and his stand-in presented a PowerPoint on impacts to the "bottom-line” due to the harsher standards and regulations, I rolled my eyes. When it was over, it was near 5; I wanted nothing more to crawl into a hole. I was drained. 

A few people were still hanging around, including Scott and Vivi, they had been watching us all day, but were not as chatty as before. I had a feeling that Scott was only a captive participant in the malice Vivi was planning, though I couldn’t be sure. He usually seemed to fade into the background. 

“Dan, Phil,” she said approaching us, “We’re going out for drinks, care to join us?” 

I was about to protest, but Dan responded, “Why not?” 

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” I said 

“Ah, loosen up a bit, we’re going to be back in London Saturday, we should experience LA.” being as charming as he could, he looped his arm through Vivi’s and made his way to the door. “You have to tell me where you got that shirt, it’s amazing on you,” Dan was so good at playing this part and Vivi had no idea, she was enamored with the flattery Dan was freely giving her. “Just give me a sec, love, I have to call my boss,” Dan was laying it on thick. He stepped away and talked on his phone, we weren’t to call them until the morning, I wasn’t sure what he was doing until my pocket buzzed, 

“Trust me?” I met his eyes and nodded, 

“Okay, bye Milo,” Dan walked back to Vivi, grabbing her arm again, “Now that the boring is out of the way, whereto?” 

“Well, they seem to be getting along,” Scott said, as we followed them out the door, 

“Yeah,” 

“Look, I’m sorry if I caused problems, Vivi has a big mouth,” 

“It’s fine, it wouldn’t have been a problem if Dan would have been reasonable,” 

“Do you guys fight a lot?” 

“Oh, you have no idea,” 

“That’s rough,” 

I could tell he was pumping me for information, but the sincerity of his last statement threw me off. We all piled into a car and ended up at a restaurant across town. 

“They have the best Margaritas here,” Vivi said as they sat down at a table near the back. 

“Oh, you do know how to have fun! I love strawberry Margaritas” Dan said, nudging her, throwing his head back laughing. It was somewhat unsettling how good he was at this. I think he had missed his calling; his acting skills were uncanny. 

“Oh, I love pink lemonade myself, what will your boyfriend have?” She asked him, winking, 

“Water,” I said 

Dan sighed, “Phil, please,” 

“What? Tomorrow is a big day, Dan," 

“A few drinks won’t hurt,” Scott said, 

I sighed, "Alright, get me whatever you’re having Dan, I need the toilet,” 

“I love how you guys say you have to go to the bathroom,” She laughed obnoxiously and so did Dan. I rolled my eyes as I snuck around to the bartender. 

“Can I help you, sir?” 

“We are at the table in the back, please make any strawberry margaritas that are ordered are made without alcohol.” I slid a 100.00 dollar bill towards him, “Charge us the same as if they do, it’s a work thing, um,” I tripped over myself trying to act casual, 

He held up his hands, pocketing the bill, “Ben Franklin says you don’t owe me an explanation,” he winked, “I got you covered.” 

“Good, if all goes to plan, there’s another $50.00 in it for you,” 

“You got it,” 

I walked back from "the toilet," Dan frowned, “Was there a cue?” 

“Something like that,” 

Three Margaritas in and an hour later, Vivi was once again gesticulating widely, and oversharing. Scott had ordered a beer and only had had one, so he wasn’t intoxicated, Vivi, however, clearly was, “You both are so cute, I’ve never known British guys before,” I glanced at Dan; my plan was working. He was acting drunk, but I think that it was more the placebo effect. “Well, then, we are getting pissed!” 

“Ohhh, we should go dancing!” 

“Vivi, I think we should head back,” Scott said, 

“It’s only 9:00, Scott, we don’t have to be back tomorrow until 1:00 PM, it’s the final day.” 

“Dan, I think we should get back, you’ve had a lot to drink,” 

“Sorry, Dad,” he and Vivi both laughed. 

I scowled, “Dan, can I please talk to you a moment, privately?” 

“Uh oh, I’m in trouble,” Dan said laughing. I pulled him into the bathroom, “What’s the plan from here?” 

“We go dancing,” he said pushing his hair back into place. 

“I think you are having too much fun with this; I don’t want you to get too caught up,” 

“I asked you to trust me, and you nodded,” 

“I do trust you, you’re just,” 

“I’m not drunk you know,” 

“Oh, I know,” I smirked, he met my eyes in the mirror, “All of our drinks have been virgin,” 

He smiled, that damned dimple popping out and taunting me, “Well played Lester, well played,” I fake curtsied, he laughed, “Okay, don’t fall,” 

“So, what’s next?” 

“Well, you are going to continue to be standoffish and a disappointed boyfriend, I am going to dance with my new found BFF!” He clapped me on the shoulder, “You know Lester, you are more devious than I gave you credit for,” 

“Please don’t say that,” 

“It wasn’t an insult,” He reached up and smoothed down a piece of my hair that was sticking up, a gasp escaped my lips, “Time to get back,” 

“All good?” Vivi asked, hopefully, 

“All good,” Dan smiled, 

“I’ll meet you at the car,” I walked up to the bartender, and slid him the $50.00, “Thank you,” 

“You got it, buddy. Have a good night,” 

Dancing and acting was a strong suit of Dan’s, I watched him gyrate his hips and pretend to be having the best time in the world, Scott sat with me. 

“How long have you been out?” 

“Ah, I’m not really,” 

“Oh wow, that must be really hard,” 

“I suppose,” 

It was nearing midnight, Scott put his foot down and decided it was time to leave. Dan had ingested some actual alcohol, I wasn’t sure how much, but when we got back to the hotel, he was all smiles. 

“I’m impressed, Lester,” he said, taking off his shirt, not even bothering to be modest, “You are pretty good at this, you play a pretty convincing disappointed boyfriend. Also, Checkmate.” 

“What did Vivi say to you?” 

“Oh, so many things,” He smirked, “I found their Achilles heel,” 

“Oh, did you now?” 

“Yes, I did,” He leaned into me, and whispered, “The stats they have are all bullshit, plagiarized even.” 

I pulled back, “What?” 

His eyes sparkled, “Do you know they already pretty much have chosen the company they want? Or they had anyway. Vivi has been to these three times now, she said that they always come in second to the current firm, which they have already defeated. It’s the reason we were left with that lame-ass PowerPoint. I have come to find out that “Accountable products” are not so accountable when it comes to their taxes,” 

“What?” 

“Contract was terminated today,” 

“Oh my god,” That meant it was between us and them, 

“Right?” He grasped both my shoulders, “And you know what else?” 

I swallowed, he was so close to me, his lips looked like they were begging to be kissed, full and swollen from drinking, “What?” I whispered, 

“We’re even kilter with Rival Trees,” 

“And you know this how?” 

“Vivi had inside information, showed me some emails, it’s how I knew it was only our two companies in the running now. Vivi was so drunk she didn’t realize when she handed me the phone to look at the news article about Accountable, that I was looking at other things. The email she has was directly from Kinney sent to the board. How she got it, I've no idea, but it mentions us, Phil. As in they are very interested in us. There was an unsent draft, Vivi is going to try to bribe Kinney if things go south tomorrow. Apparently, a private investigator found to cut corners, Kinney and the board broke several laws. She also had a list of the sites she used to falsify their stats. She’s smarter than that, but her inflated confidence with her perceived "ace in the hole," us, she became careless. It’s all in the email. We could actually win this, Phil.” 

“Do you have proof?” 

His lips curled into a guilty smile as he pulled out his phone, it was opened to the exact website they had copied their stats from, “Oopsie, someone needed a drink and forgot that I had their phone,” he then showed me all of the emails, the insider information and the drafts that contained the blackmail attempt. 

“You’re Brilliant,” I breathed, 

“Oh, I know,” He turned and flopped down on the bed, “So tomorrow, there will only be two final presentations, not three. I have a feeling they are going to bring up a lot of personal things.” 

“I am not sure how that would matter,” 

“If the board is homophobic or stereotypical it would, we have been “bickering” very publicly. They could also pull “conflict of interest” but here’s the thing, we aren’t dating, we aren't boyfriends and as far as our bosses know, we can’t stand each other.” 

“Right,” 

“Besides, I think we have the trump card,” 

“Well, let’s get to work, I think we need to come up with a backup plan to our back up plan, and we need at least some sleep.” 

“Okay, Lester, team Planet Ozone is about to win this thing!” 

I smiled, he was right, we really were a team. “Let’s do this,” 

Dan was sleeping when I woke up, it was shortly after 10:00, we had plenty of time before we had to give our presentation. I watched him as he slept, the fondness I felt was not expected. I started off dreading this trip, to begin with, now, I was dreading going home. 

“You know it’s weird to stare at people when they’re sleeping,” his eyes were still closed, 

“Well, you’re clearly not sleeping, so you have no proof that’s what I was doing.” a smile spread across his face. 

“Today is the day,” 

“It is,” 

“You alright?” He said, sitting up. 

“Yeah,” 

“You’re sure?” 

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m nervous,” 

“You’re going to do great, Phil, we are going to win.” 

“How are you so sure?” 

“Because I know our data is foolproof and theirs is not.” 

I smiled, “Thanks,” 

“Hi, Vivi!” Dan chirped entering the room, 

“Dan,” there was no hint of the fun-loving “BFF” from last night. She was hungover; Scott did not seem impressed. 

“Someone not feeling so good today?” Dan said, smirking. Mr. Kinney and the rest of the board entered; ten men in suits sat at the front of the room, watching us. It was intimidating. “I’m sure by now you all know that we have had to sever ties with Bennington, so it’s just you. Rival Trees will go first,” Mr. Kinney said. 

“Thank you, Mr. Kinney,” Vivi gave their presentation, Scott was basically her assistant, he flipped the PowerPoint pages, handed her notes and pretty much stayed silent. The presentation was good, if you didn’t know about the plagiarized and inflated stats, I wondered if Scott was aware of what she had done. 

“That concludes the presentation; however, I have some other information I would like to bring to your attention.” I sucked in a breath through my teeth; Dan smirked. He was enjoying this, 

“Go ahead,” 

“This past Saturday Scott ran into both Dan and Phil out at a gay nightclub, and he discovered they were in a relationship. They are not opposed to public displays of affection. They both are very dramatic. This is a major conflict of interest and if you ask me, very unprofessional. We have all heard them quarreling and bickering, it seems as if they can barely stand to be around each other. I feel their relationship would certainly get in the way of productivity and as they cannot maintain a professional relationship, they would affect client relations. They were fighting just last night. We graciously invited them to dinner, and even though we ended the night around 9:00, they were pretty intoxicated.” Dan snorted, 

Mr. Kinney glanced at him, “Excuse me,” He said, still smirking. 

“And though I understand that they are just representatives from Planet Ozone, I can’t help but wonder what type of a company you would be working with if they have allowed their employees to fornicate,” I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling. “I am concerned about your image, your brand. Do you really want your companies to work with someone who is so eccentric and immature? Do you want them, as a couple to turn into the face of change for your company? I don’t think that would be wise, and that’s why I wanted to be honest, and forthcoming with this information. I would hate for you not to have all of the facts before making a decision.” 

“Thank you,” Mr. Kinney said, he looked at Dan, a signal that it was his turn. 

“Hello, My name is Dan and this is Phil, we work for Planet Ozone.” He stood up and started to walk around, he was a natural at this and I watched in awe. “Me and Phil are much younger than most of the other representatives from the companies that have been involved, and we are well aware that there may be a generation gap too wide for us to fill, but we have to try.” He looked at me, “Phil and I care deeply about the environment, and that is why we have made it our life’s work to be proactive, but it is much more than part of our jobs.” He was going off script, I took a deep breath. “Phil is one of the most compassionate people I have met when it comes to the environment, he cares about the planet and the impact that we as humans are having. In fact, that is pretty much all he cares about,” The panel exchanged looks, Dan continued, “but that’s amazing because I am about business. I know that it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t turn a profit, Phil knows the exact number to meet regulations and guidelines, I know how to make that work to turn a profit. Not only will breaks be given by the government, but your products will also come with “clean” labeling. The earth conscientious consumer will be drawn to your products, your already established clientele base can use it as advertising, it’s a win-win.” He nodded at me, 

“I can tell you exactly what to cut, where to cut and how to cut to make sure that you are within safe guidelines, I have all the data and all the stats. Dan and I have come up with a comprehensive plan to eliminate emissions by 6 percent in the next five years only effecting the bottom-line by .5%. That would easily be made up in marketing alone.” 

“That’s appealing,” one of the board members said, “What do you have to say for yourselves as far as the allegations mentioned?” 

I stood up, “I wish our work was enough to speak for itself, I guess it isn't." I took a deep breath and looked towards Rival Trees, "Do you know what the funny thing is about assuming things, Vivi? Oh well, I am sure you do. Sir, this woman has been out to get us from the start. At first, I wondered if she was just intrigued or maybe just fascinated by us as we are from a different part of the world, but then I realized that she was intimidated by us,” 

Dan walked to the front of the room, “Vivi, you are very funny, you know? You say all of these insinuated homophobic insensitive things, asking about changing the face as a couple, or how we are eccentric, thing is,” He pulled up a photo of her blackmail email on the projector, “We are not trying to break the law, as you are.” Vivi went white. 

“Sirs, last night ended after midnight, my accuser was very intoxicated, Scott can vouch for that, he also can vouch for the timing as he is the one who insisted we leave at midnight. She allowed me to have her phone, she showed me the information about “Accountable Products” and then she showed me this email.” 

“Now I am not typically a tit for tat type of a man, but it seems to me that the unprofessionalism would lie with Rival Trees,” I stood up and handed all of the board members sheets of paper, showing the evidence that none of the data presented was theirs, “In front of you is proof of that.” Dan looked at me, 

“In all honesty, this is not what I signed up for, I am interested in saving the planet, but these stats are not only severely out of date and do not meet current regulations, they are clearly stolen from another's work. As far as our personal relationship,” Dan interjected. 

“Phil and I are not dating; we never have been. In fact, before this week we hadn’t worked together for years, you can ask our management, we hated each other. 

Vivi stood up, “That’s not true, Scott said you were his boyfriend!” 

“Oh, because I slid my arm around him and called him babe?” So, Dan did remember, “I am gay, that much is true, but Phil was kind enough to come with me so I was trying to make sure he wasn’t uncomfortable, and as I recall, Scott was hitting on him,” 

Vivi looked at Scott who just shrugged, shaking her head, she sat down, knowing she was defeated. A final look around the room and I was now confident that we had won, I knew that they believed us. It was over. 

“Welcome aboard, Gentlemen, I’ll be calling Milo shortly to work out the details,” Mr. Kinney said, “I’m sorry that you had to go through, well you know all that. Our company does not tolerate those types of attitudes towards others,” 

“Excuse me, I don’t know if that’s entirely true,” I said, “If that were the case, then the board members wouldn’t have been so skeptical, or had suspicions. I mean no disrespect, and I am thankful and honored to work with you,” I took a deep breath, “All I am saying is, Off the record, you may want to get them some sort of sensitivity training,” 

A smile cracked a crossed his lips, “I knew you were smart. Point taken. Congratulations. Enjoy your last days in LA, you’ve earned it.” 

As casually as we could Dan and I walked out of the room into the hallway, 

“Holy fuck Phil, we did it,” He pulled me into a hug “We actually fucking did,” 

“I can’t believe I didn’t pass out,” 

He pulled back, “You did amazing,” 

“So did you,” Dan realized suddenly that he was still holding onto and awkwardly dropped his arms, “So,” he recovered, “What should we do to celebrate?” 

“Sleep, dear god, please.” 

He laughed, “Okay, but let’s get take away, because I am starving.” 

Dan was showering after we had finished eating, I was processing everything that had happened. We both had ignored the calls from Jackson and Milo, they probably figured we were out celebrating anyway. I looked at Dan’s bed, I never thought that I would have fond feelings for that man. Now that we were leaving, I had to admit I was a little sad. 

His hair was dripping and he only had pajama bottoms on, what was this man’s aversion to shirts? “Hey, Phil?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I just wanted to say, like, Ireland?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m sorry. I could have handled that better,” 

“So could've I, I’m sorry too. It's in the past, and it doesn’t even matter because today we won,” 

“Yeah we did,” He did a fist pump and I laughed. “You’re staring at me again,” 

“Why are you so insistent on being shirtless, Howell?” 

He blushed, “I’m sorry, I guess I am just letting it all hangout. I should be more respectful of you. I know I make you uncomfortable,” 

“Yeah, you do,’ I stood up, walking towards him, “You remember the club,” 

“Ah, yeah I do, most of it,” 

“So, you remember the ride home,” 

“Mostly,” He whispered, 

“Damn it, Daniel Howell, I hate you. I was so angry and upset about Ireland and how you just stopped talking to me. I thought we got on well and then having to come here, and all of that, and then you just ended up being so,” 

“So?” 

“Gay, you had to be gay, didn’t you? It's infuriating, Dan. You're clever, witty, funny and kind. Oh, and pretty, god you’re so damn beautiful and you don’t even realize it. And to add insult to injury, you don’t wear a goddamn shirt half of the time,” 

“Phil, I don’t understand,” 

“You are an idiot,” I looked into his eyes, “Tell me, do I still smell warm?” His eyes widened as I pushed my lips to meet his, my arm pulling us closer. He met me with the same eagerness, my free hand cradled his face. 

When I pulled back Dan’s pupils were dilated; I was breathing heavily. He rested his forehead on mine, 

“I thought you were straight,” 

“You never asked, did you?” 

“Well, no, but,” 

“Tisk tisk tisk,” 

He smiled, “So I take it you fancy me?” 

“I shouldn't but yeah, maybe a little,” 

“Does that mean you will cuddle me again?” 

I nodded, he said, “Good, because, yes, Lester, you do still smell warm,” and he kissed me again.

**Author's Note:**

> BINGO: BLACKOUT
> 
> ANNNNNND that's a wrap. This has been so amazing, I have written so much in the last month it has proven to me that I still can.  
I thank each and every one of you that has come with me on this ride.
> 
> Bingo Card:  
Writers Choice  
Teaming up.


End file.
